Safety ski toe binding



July 4, 1961 .1. B. WOQDWARD SAFETY SKI TOE BINDING Original Filed Oct. 23, 1956 INVEN TOR. JOHN 5. W000 WARD ATTORNEYS 2,991,086 Q SAFETY SK-ITOE BINDING John B. Woodward, Bellevue, Wash., assignor toAnderson Thompson Ski' Cm, Inc'., Seattle, Wash., a 'corporatlon of Washington i O ginalrapplication Oct. 23,1956, Ser. No. 617,855.

Divided and this application May 4, 1959, Ser. No. 810,827

6 Claims? (G1. 280-1135) v The present invention relatesto" safety "ski bindings, and inore particularly to toe bindings which perform their releasable boot-holding function responsive to I lateral thrust on th toe of therelated booti 1 application isadivisionof my copending l 8'551 October-23, 1956nowaba11idoned. I

The invention-aims to-providea "toe 'binding of simple and economical construction in which the toe-holding means is releasable under pressure of a, lateral .forqfi. of predetermined" intensity, "and 'where I such toe-holding means is so designed that the force required to disengage the same for responsive release of the boot remains constant and substantially unaffected by any increase or decrease in the force of the spring load imposed upon tlfie hgal of the boot in yieldingly holding the latter upon t e s The invention further aims to provide such a binding that also incorporates a toggle release mechanism.

Yet additional objects and advantages in view will, with the foregoing, appear and be understood in the course of the following description and claims, the invention consisting in the novel construction and in the adaptation and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary top plan view of a ski fitted with a binding constructed to embody the preferred teachings of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view thereof with a ski-boot being shown in operative position.

FIG. 3 is a large-scale exploded perspective View of my toe binding.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of the toe binding with a boot shown in broken lines, the view being fragmentary as regards its illustration of the ski and being taken to an enlarged scale on line 4--4 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary transverse vertical sectional view drawn to a yet larger scale on line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

Referring to the drawings it is seen that my toe binding has two mounting pieces, one secured to the toe portion of the boot sole S and the other permanently secured to the ski. The former piece has a base part 53 which underlies the sole and is secured thereto by screws 54, and to the front of this base part there is provided an upstanding nosing strip. Presented by this nosing strip is a center projection 55 flanked by wings 56 bearing against the frontal edge of the sole. The projection is box-like in shape and is characterized in that the top edge 57 of its front wall has an arcuate configuration presenting an upwardly arched crown. The face of this front wall preferably is fiat and occupies a plane normal to the longitudinal median line of the boot.

The complementing ski-carried mounting occupies a position to the immediate front of the boot and is comprised of an assembly of four pieces. Two of these pieces, hereinafter termed a base piece and a cap piece and designated by 60 and 61, respectively, are superposed one upon the other and are rigidly secured by screws 62 to the ski, their construction being such as to produce a slide-way therebetween. Received for foreand-aft motion in this slide-way is a third piece 63, hereinafterltermeda r'each plate, and presented this H plateis a reach "69 which projectsrearwardly'beyond the slide and is provided at its rear en with a netcli formed byfork'arms and arranged to: press' by its two sidewalls 64 downwardly upon the arcuate top edge 57 of the nosing projection 55. The back wallof said notch bears against the flat frontal "face of said projection'fff Tojimpart 'said fore-and aft motion to the furcate reach "plate. 65 when disengaging" the; boot from and engaging" the boot to the ski',' respectively', there is] 6 ,p s gt l by. th ea ng j o fl n l extend forwardly from the lever't ears 7l )"forrne c lupon the base iece'l6 0, the pivot nnecti'ons being indicated the foregoingfit befseen that thenosir'fg projection 55;will be? disengaged: from ithe'p're'ssure-p d by a lateral force f an intensity suflici ent to cause-the reach '69" to ride up and' over fthe' archate "edge"57. 1 reach is made-er spring-stea er a gauge siifli'cient td impose substantial resistance of flexure.

The toe binding of the present invention can be used with a cableless heel binding or with a standard springloaded heel engaging cable.

It is thought that the invention will have been clearly understood from the foregoing detailed description of my now preferred illustrated embodiment. Changes within the spirit of my teachings may be resorted to without departing from the invention and it is accordingly my intention that the hereto annexed claims be given a scope in their construction fully commensurate with the broadest interpretation to which the employed language admits.

What I claim is: v

1. In a quick-release ski binding, a toe piece adapted to be secured to a boot, said toe piece presenting a pair of laterally spaced upstanding wings for overlying the frontal face of the boot toe and presenting a forward projection between said wings having an upwardly arched crown spaced forwardly of said wings, and boot toe holddown means adapted to be mounted on a ski forwardly of the boot location and including a furcate reach plate hearing by its free end against the front of said toe piece, said furcate plate presenting generally horizontal fork arms pressed downwardly by spring force to straddle said crown, whereby said plate is caused to be raised against the restraint imposed by said spring force as one or the other of said fork arms rides up and over the crest of said crown responsive to a respective lateral thrust on said toe piece of a predetermined amount.

2. The structure of claim- 1 in which said reach plate comprises a leaf spring.

3. The structure of claim 1 in which said wings and fork arms diverge from said forward projection.

4. In a quick-release ski binding, a toe piece adapted to be secured to a boot, said toe piece presenting a pair of laterally spaced upstanding wings for overlying the frontal face of the boot toe and presenting a forward projection between said wings having an upwardly arched crown spaced forwardly of said wings, and boot toe holddown means adapted to be mounted on a ski forwardly of the boot location and including a furcate reach plate hearing by its free end against the front of said toe piece, said furcate plate presenting generally horizontal fork arms pressed downwardly by spring force so that their opposed inner edges bear downwardly against said crown at opposite sides thereof, whereby said plate is caused to be raised against the restraint imposed by said spring force as one or the other of said fork arms rides up and over the crest of said crown responsive to a respective lateral thrust on said we piece of a predetermined amount.

5. In a quick-release ski binding, a toe piece adapted 3 p to be secured to a boot, said toe piece'presenting a pair of laterally spaced upstanding wings for overlying the frontal face of the boot toe and presenting a forward projection between said wings having an upwardly arched crown spaced forwardlyof said wings, and boot toe hold-down means adapted to be mounted on a ski forwardly of the boot location and including a furcate reach plate presenting generally horizontal fork arms pressed downwardly by spring force to straddle the lower part of said crown and have the portion of the reach'plate' therebetween bear against the front of said crown whereby said plate is causedto be raised against-the restraint imposed by said spring force asone or the other of said fork arms rides up and over the crest of said crown responsive to a respective lateral thrust on said toe piece of a predetermined amount.

' 6. In a quick-release ski binding, a toe piece adapted to be secured to a boot, said toe piece presenting a pair of laterally spaced upstanding wings for overlying the frontal face of the boot toe and presenting a forward projection between said wings having an upwardly arched crown spaced forwardly of said wings, a furcate reach plate bearing by its free end against the front of said toe piece when in operative position, said furcate plate presenting generally horizontal fork arms pressed downwardly by spring force to straddle said crown when in operative position, whereby said hold-down plate is caused to be raised against the restraint imposed by said spring force as one or the other of said fork arms rides up and over the crest of said crown responsive to a respective lateral thrust on said toe piece of a predetermined amount, and toggle operated release means adapted to be secured on the ski forwardly of said toe-piece and operatively associated with said reach plate for selectively moving the latter rearwardly and forwardly into and out of operative position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,546,694 Johansen Mar. 27, 1951 2,573,955 Cubberley Nov. 6, 1951 2,705,150 Hansen Mar. 29, 1955 12,718,403 Pratt Sept. 20, 1955 2,745,672 Meier May 15, 1956 52,868,137 Marker Oct. 28,1958 FOREIGN PATENTS Germany July 5, 1951 

